Moments || H.S

ii ; the boy with the scarf

And there he is.

A boy.

He stands alone, his hands sheepishly in his pockets. He must have sensed me glancing at him, as his eyes soon flicker up to look back at me. I think he's smiling. What the hell, I thought, he looks nice enough. This is as good of a time as ever to make new friends. I walk towards him, ignoring the anxiety pooling in my stomach as I hold the ukulele tighter to my chest, I'm not good at talking to people. 

"Hi." He greets as I slow in front of him.

"Hi."

There's a silence. I don't know what to say. Jesus Christ, why do I have to be so awkward and ruin everythi-

"I'm Harry. Nice ukulele."

I blink at him for a moment, "thanks, Harry. I'm Avery. Nice... scarf?"

He laughs, nodding as he looks down at it. "Mum gave it to me... says it's a good luck charm. Her and the rest of my family are off somewhere. You come alone?"

Unexpectedly, we click straight away.

Harry Styles of Redditch. He's a genuinely nice kid. Same age as me, too. 16 that is.

He takes me to where he got his audition number, saving me the trouble of trying to find it myself. We swap numbers, promising that we will contact each other after our auditions. We are both starting to get nervous, hearing as people begin to be called over the loudspeakers. I hope the both of us do well.

As Harry's number echoes through the lobby and he starts to walk away, he turns to me one last time- pointing at me with his phone in his hand. "Good luck." I mouth, pointing back at him. He makes a praying motion with his hands, disappearing into the crowd.

I go to the nearest bench, taking a seat as I watch him leave with his family. I check the time on my phone... my dad's old Iphone 3gs. Harry and I had been talking for what had felt like 15 minutes... it had been nearly an hour. If everything goes downhill, at least I made a friend.

Eventually, my number is one of many drawling through the room. I walk in the direction Harry went ages before, being met by a woman in a yellow 'staff' t-shirt. She smiles tightly at me, putting a hand on my shoulder and leading through the backstage area. People just like me litter the halls. Some are beaming, proud grins plastering their faces. Others sport looks of disappointment and heartbreak. I can't help but wonder which one I will become.

"Wait here." The woman tells me, "Dermot will be here soon to interview you before going on stage." I nod at her, rocking back and forth on my heels slightly. The nerves were starting to kick in once again. "You'll be fine." She sounds sincere as she speaks to me, tapping the top of my head awkwardly. She turns and goes back the direction we once came.

X-factor time. It's now or never, baby.

As of writing this, it is the 10 year anniversary of Harry's X-Factor Audition!